As part of the Piénsalo 2 Veces campaign and to commemorate the first anniversary of its launch on September 23, leaders from the public and private sectors and civil society organizations gathered at the "Human Rights, Employment and Youth" Forum. Focused on a common agenda, the participants addressed through dialogue the good practices around employment and entrepreneurship opportunities for young people, in addition to the risks linked to Trafficking in Persons and labour exploitation.

Two high-level conferences initiated the contextual framework of the event, facilitated by Dayra Campos, Secretary-General of the National Commission against Trafficking in Persons and Claudia Escobar Casillas, Country Manager of ManPower Group Panama, and through which it was possible to understand the current difficulties and risks that young people in the region are going through and proposed strategies for both the candidates, businesses, governments and think tanks to address these challenges.

Currently, according to the study carried out by ManPower Group and Junior Achievement with more than 3,000 young people between the ages of 18 and 29 from 14 Latin American countries, 81% of young people in Latin America have had difficulty finding a job opportunity. The survey also reveals the time and discomfort that young people suffer in the search for a job. About 29% of the people surveyed have three to six months looking for work, 25% less than three months, 16% between 6 and 12 months, and 16% more than a year. According to the analysis, the top 10 positions that young people apply for when looking for a job relate to the areas of administrative and office management, sales representatives, human resources, and customer service.

For Santiago Paz, IOM Chief of Mission in Panama, "this space places human rights at the center of exchange and the impact of implementing measures that generate more and better jobs, but that also seek solutions for young people to whom the lack of opportunities and disinformation has an impact on. Because there are risks that impact their well-being and integrity such as trafficking in persons and labour exploitation, campaigns such as Piénsalo 2 Veces contribute strategically to the development of comprehensive strategies that link various sectors to access reliable sources of information and make decisions for their personal and professional development".

As part of the forum, an interesting roundtable moderated by Marisol Linero, IOM labour migration consultant and labour rights specialist. The panelists were Alfredo Mitre, National Director of Employment of the Ministry of Labour; Vladimir Petit Medina, Representative of the Venezuelan-Panamanian Chamber of Integration, as well as Dennis Carranza and Marcela Mena, two of the young leaders of the campaign in Panama, and they all shared their experiences and good practices regarding employment opportunities for young migrants and nationals.

Based on the results obtained through a baseline research process developed in La Chorrera District and together with young people from the community, institutions and organizations, the campaign was launched on September 23, 2021, with the support of the Western Hemisphere Program, implemented by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) with funding from the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM).

Since then, it has managed to sensitize more than 600 young people nationwide and more than 15, OOO through various media, some of them present during the activity.

Through their participation, in addition to each of the key actors at the level of government and private sector, the continuity and success of this initiative is guaranteed to generate reliable information to avoid situations of labor exploitation, fraudulent offers and make informed decisions for their personal and professional development.

For more information, contact IOM Panama's communications team via email iompanama@iom.int